“I’m proud to come here to honor officers Cadinha, Oili, Jitchaku, and Keliipio. And I’m also grateful that that’s all we honor each year… I know every day there’s no garantees.”

“Officers Joshua Gouveia and Garrett Hatada responded to a call where an individual later identified as 31-year-old Keaka D. Martin was reported to be discharging a firearm in a public place. Martin, who had been hiding under a vehicle, fired upon officers Hatada and Gouveia as they approached the vehicle.

Thankfully, although both officers received gunshot wounds to their lower extremities, they survived the encounter and are currently recovering.”

“I very quielty went to the hospital to see [Officer Joshua Gouveia and Officer Garrett Hatada] the next day; I’m so grateful that they are OK.”

“As recently as May 7 of last week, 40 law enforcement officers have already been killed in the line of duty [in the United States]. A startling and tragic statistic is that on average one law enforcement officer is killed every 57 hours.

The blue grey marble walls of the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C., now display more than 19,981 names of law enforcement officials that were killed in the line of duty. Of these names, 54 are from the State of Hawaii.”

“I can confidently say that these men and women – as well as the support staff who provide the critical support they need to keep all of us safe – that we have, if not the finest, one of the finest departments in the entire country, and nothing … anything … can provide greater comfort than to know that the men and women we have represent the best of our community; honesty, integrity, service.”